Fate:Revenge
by Deiru Tamashi
Summary: Shirou was not the only child to survive the fire. Another lived, one who swore an oath to punish whoever was responsible for such devastation. An oath that Angra Mainyu saw fit to assist in… by making her the master of the eighth Servant in the Fifth Holy Grail War. Rated T for now, likely to go up to M in the future. Please review!
1. Chapter 1: Born in Fire

Author's Note: I do not own Fate/Stay night, or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

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Summary: Shirou was not the only child to survive the fire. Another lived, one who swore an oath to punish whoever was responsible for such devastation. An oath that Angra Mainyu saw fit to assist in… by making her the master of the eighth Servant in the Fifth Holy Grail War.

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Fate/Revenge

Chapter 1: Born in Fire

It can be said that chaos was beautiful.

Many said that when something was beautiful, it was because of how it was ordered. For people, it was their physical appearance. For inanimate objects, it was the amount of skill placed in its making. For a song, it was how the notes blended together into a pleasing and unforgettable melody. In all these cases, it was the arrangement, the order, of something that gave it beauty.

But the lack of order could also produce a beauty unlike anything else. A beauty that was ephemeral, unpredictable, and could not be shaped by any hands, be they mortal or divine. Only the most chaotic things could produce such beauty. One prime example of such a thing was fire.

And now, one little girl was witnessing the beauty of fire first-hand.

All around her, the fire raged, consuming buildings, trees, people, everything. It had happened out of nowhere. One moment everything in Fuyuki City was fine. The next, massive fire appeared out of nowhere, spreading out from the theater in Miyama and affecting all in its wake. It didn't matter whether it was wood, steel, stone, flesh, everything burned.

Her family, having lived in small house near the theater, had been one of the first to be ruined. Strangely enough, the fire had come in more of flood than blaze, like lava from a volcano, or mud from a landslide. But her house burned all the same, and they were all separated as a result.

"Daddy? Mommy! Where are you?!" she called, but there was no response. None other than the screams of others as their own houses crumbled, leaving them trapped inside to fry.

As they burned, the buildings began collapsing too, covering the streets in debris while belching smoke into the night sky. Maybe her parents were trapped inside of one of the houses, trying to help others out. Her Mommy and Daddy had always been kind like that.

Trying her best to avoid the rubble around her and block out the screaming—she wouldn't be able to keep going if she didn't—she approached a pile of stone and metal that looked like it had been a convenience store. She could remember this one. The storeowner always let her have a piece of candy when her parents weren't looking, and making jokes when they were.

She reached down and tried to pull away the closest piece of broken concrete. But not only was she too small and too weak to lift it, but the red-hot stone burned her hands when she touched it.

"AAH!" she called, staggering back and looking down at her hands. They were bright red and already blistering, the previously smooth skin warped and marred. The pain nearly brought her to tears, and would have… had she not hit her ankle on a rock and fallen backwards into a huge puddle of… was this mud?

If it was, the mud was scorching hot, as it enveloped and burned her at the same time, causing the girl to scream further and struggle to get out. It would have been a simple matter of turning over onto her hands and knees to stand up, were she thinking clearly.

But how can a nine-year old think clearly when they were being smothered by burning, dirty, mud? So, she flailed around, actually sinking deeper into mud (it was deeper than first glance suggested).

"No! Help me! Someone, help!" she screamed. The mud was covering everything but her face now, the weight of pushing down on her. She struggled harder, trying to free herself from it. Someone had to hear her screaming, someone had to see her fighting. They would see her, and save her!

In fact, she could have sworn she saw someone, a man with black hair in a black trench coat. He seemed to be wandering through the fire in a daze, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. And he was crying. Why was he crying?

Then the mud covered her face and she felt no more.

* * *

…

…

…

…She didn't know how long she had been here.

Ever since she sank into the mud, all she had known was darkness and heat. And not the comforting heat, like when you place your hands over a warm fire or feel the sun shining on your face. No, this fire was all around her, smothering her, making it impossible to move, impossible to breathe.

Yet, somehow, she didn't die, or even pass out. Perhaps fate had decided that she would live, or was being cruel and letting her suffer. Or maybe it was pure chance. She wasn't sure.

The little girl was sure of thing, however. If she couldn't hope to survive this kind of hell (she had never used the word before, but it certainly fit here) then how could her Mother or Father survive it either?

She couldn't move, but she could cry, and wept for the death of her parents. The death of her friends. Of everything she had ever known.

Again, she wasn't sure how long she was in there, wallowing in darkness, heat and despair, unable to escape.

But eventually, after her tears had long run out, and she resigned herself to dying, she heard a voice. A male voice, one that seemed to be in as much pain as she was. And yet, at the same time, it seemed calm. As if it were used to the pain.

" **Do you wish to live?** "

The girl looked around, not seeing anything within the void. Then, despite the fact that the mud should have kept her from seeing, a small light about before her. A flickering red ember, no more than a dot.

Regardless, it was something, and she chased towards it. She tried to will her body to move, and it felt like she did. The heat was still there, enveloping her, but now it felt like she was moving through it. Towards that flickering ember.

The closer she got, the larger the ember grew. By the time she was right in front of it, it was the size of a house, casting its light in all directions in the void. And in the center of the fire, untouched by it, was a person.

She couldn't make out any details of their appearance, only that they were shaped like a human. Nonetheless, when she heard the voice again, she knew it was this figure that it came from.

" **I ask you, do you wish to live?** "

"W-Who are you?" she asked fearfully. Her parents always told her to never trust strangers, and this was one.

The figure paused, almost as if it were surprised, and tilted its head. After a moment of silence, it said " **My name… is Angra Mainyu. However, if you wish, you may simply call me Avenger. What is your name?** "

The girl hesitated, before responding "Ira. Kurashi Ira."

Avenger nodded. " **Very well. Now, Kurashi Ira, I will ask you once more time. Do you wish to live past this event, which was all started by one person?** " it asked.

Ira looked up at that. "Wait. Someone started the fire? Who would do that?!" she asked.

" **I won't tell you** ," Avenger said bluntly, making Ira hang her head. However, she looked back up when it added " **But I will tell you that the one who caused this fire, the man who did it, he truly is worth of the title of 'All the World's Evils'. That much is certain.** "

She nodded. That made sense. All the pain and suffering caused by the fire, the number of people that had been hurt, all the lives lost… If one person to was responsible for all that, then they were definitely a bad person. And a person that bad definitely deserved a name like 'All the World's Evils'.

Then she remembered the man in the trench coat. Unlike everyone else, he hadn't been hurt by the fire. Instead, he was just wandering around, watching and crying. Was that him? Was that the bad man?

If he was, then she needed to go back. She needed to find him, and make sure that he paid for being such a bad person!

Looking towards Avenger, Ira nodded. "Yes. Yes, I want to go back. He has to be punished!" she said, the determination in her voice completely at odds with the fact she was a child.

If Avenger was disturbed by it, he didn't give an indication, and simply nodded. Reaching towards her, she saw the flames around him gather into a ball in his hand. The light from that little ball was almost blinding, and she covered her eyes to avoid it.

She didn't reopen them until she heard Avenger say " **Here.** " She opened her eyes, and saw that, where there had been a ball of fire, now there was only a cup. It was a really fancy cup, completely golden and shining prettily. It was pretty big too, too big for anyone to reasonably drink from. Yet, before her eyes, the cup began to magically fill with mud, the same kind of mud she had fallen into.

Once it was full to the brim, Avenger held out the cup towards here. " **Drink this. This cup represents me, and the mud represents my power. Take it into yourself, and you shall have the strength to survive this night. And one day, you may be able to deliver the punishment you seek to mete** ," he explained.

Ira hesitated, unsure if she should accept. The stuff in this cup was the same stuff that hurt her, that hurt so many people and destroyed her home. If she drank it, wouldn't that be hurting herself? But Avenger said it would make her stronger, and he didn't seem like the kind to lie. What should she do?

Apparently, Avenger interpreted her hesitation as denial, and spoke more firmly. " **Take it. Drink from the Holy Grail, and you can survive. Do you not wish to punish the man you caused this fire? Who hurt you and your family?** " it asked.

Her family. Yes… Mommy… Daddy… They were both gone now, two more people who the fire had killed. But if she could live, if she could make sure the person responsible suffered… then those deaths wouldn't be in vain. And to do that, she had to take the cup.

Nodding once more, Ira took the Grail from Avenger's hands and lifted it to her lips, letting the mud pass between her lips. It burned just much on the inside as it had on the outside, and constantly got stuck in her throat on the way down. Not to mention that there was so much. Seriously, who needed a cup this big anyway?!

But eventually, she managed to drink it all, and swallowed the last bit of it. The moment she did, the cup vanished in a burst of fire, and the flames that had been around Avenger re-ignited, burning hotter and more beautifully than ever. Ira screamed as pain suddenly wracked her nine-year-old body, causing her to double over and then fall onto her side.

But rather than help, Avenger simply stood there, wreathed in his own flames and watching as she twisted on the ground. The flames grew with each passing second, until they were all she could see. He finally spoke one last time. " **I will see you again, Kurashi Ira, in ten years' time. Grow strong until then, so that you may fulfill the wish, both yours and mine. I long to be born, and where Kiritsugu failed, you may yet succeed.** "

But Ira did not hear any of this, distracted as she was by the pain. Slowly, her vision grew dark, her owns screams becoming muffled, until all was darkness and silence once more.

* * *

The pile of mud slowly evaporated, more like water than real mud, and left the body of Ira Kurashi behind. Only now, she had become changed.

Her hair had lengthened, reaching her waist and turning the same shade of red as dried blood. About three-fourths of the way down, it darkened even further, turned onyx black. By contrast, her skin had paled to the point that it was almost like porcelain, not a blemish or burn in sight. When she opened her eyes, they were the same red as her hair.

Slowly getting to her feet, Ira looked around. The fires in Fuyuki had long since gone out, and now there was nothing left but smoke and debris. Chances were that there was nothing left of her house either, which was a problem. Where was she going to live?

At that moment, she became aware of a pair of nearby voices, one of them saying "I can't believe we struggled over that ridiculous thing as if it could actually grant wishes. This play remained a meaningless joke right to the end."

She could hear another voice respond, and walked towards them. Climbing over a small hill of rubble, she was treated to a very strange sight.

There was a young man, with blonde hair and red eyes, who was sitting on top of stone column. He was almost completely naked, showing off every inch of his flesh to the world save for what was covered by a red cloth, and seemingly not giving a damn about it. The other person was also a man, though he was wearing clothes that seemed like a priest's, with brown hair and dark eyes.

The moment she was within sight of the two of them, the golden-haired man raised an eyebrow. "So, one of the mongrels managed to survive? I suppose, given the number of them that were here, I shouldn't be too surprised," he stated.

Ira frowned. Did he just refer to her as some kind of dog? Pushing the thought aside for later, she approached the man wearing clothes. He was priest, and priests were supposed to help those in need, right?

Once she was standing before him, she said "Please, I have nowhere to go. Will the Church take me in?"

Kirei looked down at the girl, and almost immediately dismissed her. There was nothing special about here, save for her somewhat unusual hairstyle and eye color. Certainly not something for him to waste his time with, not that he cared in the first place.

But just before he could say 'no', Kirei felt a pulse where his heart had once been. Glancing down at his chest in surprise, he felt a similar pulse coming from the air in front of him. Or more precisely, from this girl in front of him.

Had she been given life by the Grail, just as he had? If so, why? Now his curiosity had been piqued, and he certainly couldn't leave it unabated. ' _I suppose_ ,' he thought. ' _I can take her with me back to the Church, and let her stay there for a day or two. At least long enough for me figure out why she was saved as well_.'

With that in mind, he looked down at the girl. Surprisingly, she had been waiting patiently for an answer, her expression never once shifting from the stoic frown she wore. Good. If he had to deal with a bunch of crying, it would have made taken a much greater toll on his patience.

"Yes, the Church can offer you sanctuary, at least for the time being. Come with me," he said, and turned around without waiting for a response.

As he walked away, Ira followed behind him, and Gilgamesh's eyebrow rose even further. "And now the little one is coming with us? What are you up to, Kirei?" he asked.

Shaking his head, Kirei replied "Just looking to satisfy my curiosity. Nothing more," and kept walking. Gilgamesh stared at him for a moment, before chuckling and following as well.

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 **And there we go. I'm actually rather excited to be doing this, as I have been giving thought as to whether or not to do a Fate fanfiction for a long time, ever since I watched Fate/Zero. Now, I have finally decided to it, and I hope it was enjoyable. Like a lot of my other stories, this one will not have a fixed update schedule, but will instead be updated when the muse for it strikes me.**

 **We'll see more of the central character, Kurashi Ira, in the next chapter, and inch closer to the start of canon. I'll probably being doing a lot of the same stuff done in the UBW route (with my own twists, of course), since that's the route I'm most familiar with.**

 **As for who her Servant will be, the poll to decide just that ended the day on Tuesday. The winner of the poll, by one vote, was none other than Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. (Long live the UMU!) However, while Nero did win the poll, the fact that it was such a close vote has left me still somewhat open to changing it. If you want the Servant to remain as Nero, or have it changed to someone else, leave a review saying so along with _why_ you beleive that to be the best choice. (Including the 'why' will make me take your suggestion a lot more seriously than just saying who.) So, with that said, stay tuned!**

 **Please review! If you flame me then Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)**


	2. Chapter 2: Summoning

Author's Note: I do not own Fate/Stay night, or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

 **Well, here's the next chapter of Fate/Revenge. Now, after all he reviews and suggestions I ot last chapter, I have made my decision. I will indeed be changing the Servant from Nero to Nobunaga.**

 **However, I don't know how many of you I told this (I know I told at least one person) but the Nobunaga that will be portrayed here will not be the same one from Fate. This one will, first off, be male, and their appearance will be heavily based of the version of Nobunaga in _Drifters_ by Kouta Hirano (you know, the same guy who made _Hellsing_ ). I will be borrowing from the canon material for Nobunaga's skills, Noble Phantasm, etc. But this version will be male.**

 **Now, with that out of the way, let us begin the chapter!**

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Chapter 2: Summoning

"Ira? Iraaaa…? Hey! Ira!"

Kurashi Ira blinked, breaking from her train of thought to look over at whoever had spoken up. When she did, she frowned at who it was. Matou Shinji, a boy who seemed to be the living manifestation of 'arrogant' in her eyes, and who always seemed to have a group of girls with him, as if he were dating them all at once. This was no doubt another attempt to add her to that group yet again.

Shinji leaned back in his seat in front of her. "So… after class, me and a couple of my friends were planning to head into town and have some fun? What do you say you join us?" he asked.

' _Right on the mark. I swear…_ ' Ira thought, before fixing him with a blank stare. "I apologize, Matou-san, but I have no interest whatsoever in spending any of my free time with you," she said. Blunt, simple and left no room for interpretation. Just like she had hoped.

But somehow, he managed to not get the point, and pressed on. "Come on, Ira. You've got no friends here at school, you're not part of any clubs, and don't do anything fun. Why not cut loose for a bit?" he suggested.

Now her stare turned from blank to irritated, and she said, "My ability to perform well at school and my ability to 'have fun' are completely unrelated to one another. But one thing you can rest assured of is my ability to react violently if you ask me again."

At that, Shinji backed off. Ira had somewhat of a reputation for being very hard to get angry. But if someone succeeded… well, her hair wouldn't the only thing red at that point.

With a scowl, the Matou said "Fine, be that way!" before looking forward towards the front of them room.

Ira took her chance to get out of there and walk away, running a hand through her hair in exasperation. It was the same color it had been ever since that fateful day, a shade of red that matched the color of dry blood, and then turned black three-quarters of the way down. Now it reached her knees instead of her waist, but that was as long as she let it go. Any more and it would be too cumbersome.

As she walked, she passed by a rather interesting sight. Tohsaka Rin, one of the smartest and most admired girls at their school, was having what appeared to be a heated discussion with the Student Council President, Ryuudou Issei. Interesting.

Walking as quietly and slowly as possible to not disturb them, she listened in. "And what might you have up your sleeve, Tohsaka? Why are you here this early?" Issei demanded.

Rin's rather cheeky response was simply "Because I felt like it."

Issei gritted his teeth, but before he could press for more, the door they were standing next to opened. From that door emerged one Emiya Shirou, who seemed to be have ben repairing an old heating unit.

The moment Ira saw him, she froze. This was him. The son of the man who caused the fire in Fuyuki ten years ago. Maybe not by blood, but still by name, this boy was connected to the man who created that hell.

The first time she had learned who he was, she almost killed him on the spot for what his father had done. But before she could even try, Kirei had stopped her, saying that vengeance obtained in anger was not true vengeance. If she wanted to make Shirou suffer, he had told her, it had to be when she was at her most calm, in order to truly savor the feeling.

The advice didn't make her happy, but it did stay her hand to this day. Not only did she take his words to heart, but it was also difficult to find a time when the boy wasn't either at school—where there were dozens of witnesses around to identify her—or at home, which could possess all kinds of its own defenses.

Still, she wouldn't have to wait too much longer. If what Kirei told her was true, the same event that led to the fire would happen again soon. And when it did, she would be free to deliver Shirou's punishment.

Refocusing on the events at hand, she heard Shirou tell Issei "It's okay, I don't mind. Where's the next one?"

"Right. People have been saying that the one in the AV room has been acting strange. What I'm worried is that it may finally died on us," Issei replied.

From there, Ira tuned out the conversation in favor of Rin, who had walked past them and now stood in front of her. The moment their eyes met, the two girls went stiff, tension saturating the air around them.

"Kurashi," Rin said formally, bowing her head.

"Tohsaka," Ira responded, returning the gesture. "I must admit, I've never seen you at school this early. Trying to get some extra studying in?"

"No, my clock was simply set an hour ahead, and I decided to come to school anyway. What about you? Not studying well enough at the Church?" Rin asked.

The redhead stiffened further, resisting the urge to snap at her. From the day they met as children, neither she nor Rin had tried to hide their dislike for one another.

She could still remember that day in harsh detail.

* * *

 ** _Ten years earlier…_**

 _"I know that my redeemer lives. And that in the end, he will stand upon the Earth. And though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, in this flesh, I shall see God. I myself with see Him, with my own eyes. I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me. Amen," Kirei read, before closing his Bible._

 _"Amen," the rest echoed, Ira among them. She had been brought to the funeral by Kirei. Apparently, the man who died had been Kirei's teacher of sorts until recently, and abruptly died just several days ago._

 _She didn't know why she had been dragged to this, but Kirei had been insistent on not letting her out of his sights. According to him, he was still curious, and did not want the object of his curiosity running off._

 _'Not that I'd have anywhere to run to,' she thought bitterly, brushing an imaginary speck of dust off her skirt. Her outfit was completely black to match the occasion, and consisted of an ankle-length skirt, shoes, and blouse. In her opinion, it felt far too stiff._

 _"Rin," she heard Kirei say, and looked up. In front of them was a little girl, one with aqua eyes and black hair held up in twin-tails. The girl seemed to be glaring at Kirei with an unusually large amount of anger._

 _Kirei looked down at her, saying "As the new head of the Tohsaka family, your debut was an excellent one. Tokiomi would have been proud."_

 _Rin grunted but said nothing. Though she did glance over at Ira._

 _Kirei caught the glance, and placed one hand on Ira's shoulder. "This girl is Kurashi Ira. She was left orphaned by the fire in Fuyuki, and I have agreed to take her in. Go on; introduce yourself," he said, directing that last part at Ira._

 _The red-eyed girl nodded, and bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Tohsaka-san," she said mechanically, not really putting any sincerity to her words._

 _If Rin noticed, she didn't comment on it, and bowed back. "Same to you, Kurashi-san," she replied with just as much energy._

 _Kirei nodded, apparently satisfied. "It would appear that your father was flawless in his preparations. All that the Tohsaka family has gathered over the generations will now be passed to you," he said, before noticing that Rin had been holding her left arm for some time "You've not become fully accustomed to bearing your family's crest yet, I see. Does it still hurt?"_

 _"It's nothing. I'm fine," Rin told him shortly. As if the very act of talking to him was some great ordeal._

 _Ira frowned. In the short time she had known him, it become pretty obvious that Kirei was not a father figure, nor was he trying to be one. Still, she didn't have to act so rudely. The way she acted, you'd think that Kirei was responsible for her father's death._

 _Refocusing, she heard him say "I have to leave now. I'll be outside of Japan for the foreseeable future. Though, I will return in time for the second crest to be transplanted in six months. Will you need anything until then?"_

 _"No!" Rin said, almost shouting. Then, quickly brining her voice back down, she said "No thank you. I won't need help with anything."_

 _"Alright, that's enough," Ira said, stepping forward before Kirei could stop her._

 _The twin-tailed girl was quick to switch her burning gaze to her, saying "What was that?"_

 _"I said, that's enough. Kirei has done nothing for you to treat him like this. What was more, he was kind enough to take me, an orphan with nothing, into his care. I'm grateful that he's here, and you'd do well to act the same," she said._

 _For a long moment, there was silence, broken only by the falling of the rain. Then Rin stepped forward as well. "Say. That. Again. I dare you," she managed to get out._

 _But Ira stood her ground. "Can't you hear? I said to be grateful, you snot-nosed child," she said, completely ignoring that fact that she was also a child._

 _Rin's eyes went huge, and she looked ready to lunge at Ira right there in front of the graveyard. But before she could, Kirei intervened, saying "Rin, you are now Tohsaka head, both officially and in name. To commemorate such an occasion, I'd like to offer you this."_

 _Both girls looked at him, and from his pocket he withdrew what appeared to be a dagger. The blade of it was wrapped in cloth, and Kirei carried it gently. He handed it to Rin, who unwrapped the blade and looked at it._

 _"That dagger is called an Azoth Sword. When your father, my teacher, acknowledged that I had completed my training under him, he gave it to me. But, considering the circumstances, it would probably be best if it was held by you," he explained._

 _Rin stared at it, all previous anger gone. "This was… my father's?" she asked, her voice trembling. Then, the tears she had been trying to hold back finally came, and she sobbed while holding the dagger._

 _Ira smirked, convinced that her belief in Kirei had been assured, and looked to him for confirmation. Only to be thrown for a loop when, instead of usual stoic face, he was smiling._

 _'But… Kirei never smiled. Not once,' she thought, before looking over at Rin. Was it something about this girl that made his smile? If so, what? The only thing that changed compared to a minute ago was that Rin was now cry-_

 _She stopped. Wait. Was Kirei smiling_ because _Rin was crying? Did her sadness somehow make him happy? But that made no sense. One person being sad didn't make another person happy… did it?_

 _Just a short while ago, before her rebirth at the hands of the Grail, she wouldn't have even thought about it. But now, after having gone through everything that she had, she wasn't so sure anymore. What had she known that was true, and what wasn't? Was it right to be happy when you made others cry?_

* * *

In the ten years that had passed since then, the two girls' mutual dislike for one another only solidified. Rin still considered it Kirei's fault that her father died, and Ira's words that day had gained her an unmoving place on the girl's 'enemy' list.

With the passage of time, Ira had indeed come to see that the words she said as a child were very rude and inconsiderate. However, given how much she despised the Tohsaka head, she never apologized for them. On the other hand, she disliked Rin more for what she represented.

A smart, rich girl who had come from a powerful family, and who didn't have to work nearly as hard to become skilled in magecraft. But for Ira, she had to scratch and claw her way to success, both as a mage and a student. In a way, they could be seen as opposite of one another. The rich prodigy versus the poor beginner, the 'beginner' part emphasized by the fact that Ira didn't even start learning magecraft until after Kirei took her in.

Which was yet another they the two argued about. As it turned out, Ira possessed the greater number of Magic Circuits between the two (forty-eight, to be precise) but hers were of a lower quality than Rin's. To that end, a lot of Rin's combat tactics revolved around pure magecraft and the use of her jewels. Ira, on the other hand, took after Kirei and fought primarily hand-to-hand, using magecraft as a supplement to that.

Both of them were so very different from one another, yet they also shared a somewhat fiery temper and ill feelings for each other. Still, they did try to keep their interactions civil. Ira did so because Kirei had been very thorough to teaching her to be respectful, while Rin had to keep up appearances as head of the Tohsaka family. It made things… irritating.

But besides her rigid posture, Ira didn't let her anger show, and simply shrugged. "My adoptive father does what he can for me. Unlike you, I'm very grateful for what he's done," she said.

Now it was Rin's turn to let her anger show, though she did so in the form of getting her teeth. But that was the extent of it, as her response was "I see. In any case, I think I should be going now. Have a pleasant day, Kurashi-san."

"And you as well, Tohsaka-san," Ira said, and they both bowed once before walking past each other.

 _'I really hope that she becomes a Master in the War as well. Then I can kill her alongside Emiya_ ,' she thought angrily. Now that she had talked with the twin-tailed brat, she needed to blow off some steam. But how was she going to do that?

Then her eyes landed on a very familiar head of blue hair, and she got an idea.

* * *

"Are you sure that this is necessary?" Shinji asked.

Ira nodded, looking him straight in the eye. "Very sure, Matou-san. This is something that I need, and figured that you, being the upstanding gentleman you are, would be happy to assist," she said.

Shinji chuckled nervously, seeing that a couple of the girls he hung out with were watching. "Er, yeah! I'm always willing to help a girl in need," he said.

"Then there should be no problem," she told him bluntly.

"Well, yes," he said, before grimacing. "Except that this is really starting to hurt!

Ira ignored him and swung again, her fist colliding solidly with the boxing pads that Shinji was wearing. The two of them were standing off to the side of the school's gym, with both of them wearing the gear for their physical fitness classes. However, Shinji was also wearing the boxing pads, while Ira had her fists wrapped in tape.

His face seemed the perfect combination of irritation and agony. It was likely due to the number of times he had been forced to either dodge a punch, or block it and fell like he had just stopped charging buffalo.

Nodding, Ira began swinging in a flurry of blows once again, deciding not to enhance her punches with mana this time around. While she wasn't part of a club, Ira was regularly seen in the school gym working on her hand-to-hand combat. So, since she wanted to do that now, she needed someone to help her.

Or at least, that's she told Shinji.

Really, she could have done this at home, using the dummy in her room that she had gotten for exactly this purpose. Training and sparing was just one of her favorite pastimes, something she often did whenever she was stress out and needed a way to distract herself. Kirei had never been for or against this particular trait of hers—there were, he supposed, worse things she could spend her time doing—but she had received support for it from a very unexpected source.

Gilgamesh, of all people, had been the one to suggest that she pursue this, to the surprise of both her and Kirei. Having had a taste for "all the pleasures that the world could offer", the blonde had suggested that Ira find something that she took pleasure in as well. Seeing her struggle to find something that made her happy amused him, and he "ordered" her to continue with her efforts to become a skilled fighter so that he could determine if the fruits of said efforts were of any worth.

Kirei let go of the matter, not willing to direct contradict Gilgamesh's words, and Ira was free to train and act as much as she pleased. However, she still kept the things she learned from Kirei in mind, including his lessons about pain. As long as she kept it a secret, then it would be okay to take pleasure in the suffering others.

Which lead to her present situation.

She let the Matou suffer for another half-hour before Ira decided that she had obtained enough satisfaction for one day, and began unwrapping the bandages from her fists. "Okay, I'm done for today. Thank you for your help, Matou-san," she said.

Shinji nearly fell over in relief and quickly removed the boxing pads, letting them fall to the ground while he rubbed his sore hands. Or rather, tried to. The pain from made him cry out every time he so much as moved a finger, though Ira ignored him and walked out of the room. She had gotten her daily quota of amusement; seeing him suffer more would have exceeded that quota.

* * *

 **Later that night…**

"I'm back…" Ira called, walking into the Church as if she lived in it. Which, technically speaking, she did. She had been living here for the past ten years.

After Kirei had agreed to let her stay for a few days, she had spent most of that time simply trying to process things. Things like the death of her parents, the destruction of her home, etc. During that time, Kirei had her recount her experience where she spoke to Avenger, and its offer of giving her the power needed to survive

The way Kirei had seen it, Angra Mainyu had been angered over being denied the chance to be born, and wanted someone to punish the person who denied it. Namely, Kiritsugu. It did strike him as curious that the Holy Grail would choose a little girl for the job. But then again, there hadn't really been anyone else at the time, seeing as everyone else was dead save for himself and Gilgamesh.

Speaking of Gilgamesh…

"Ah, so you've returned to us yet again, little pup," the blonde said. He was sitting on top of the altar and drinking a glass of wine, though he paused long enough to look over at her.

That was the other thing. Gilgamesh had also been staying at the Church since the fire, sustaining himself by using mana that Kirei drained from other children orphaned by the fire. At first, the King of Heroes wanted nothing to do with her, and would either ignore Ira or threaten to kill her whenever she came close.

However, ten years of living together had worn him down to the point that he both suggested that she pursuit her desire for combat, and he now referred to her as a 'little pup'. When she asked why, he said that it was because she was and always would be little compared to his magnificence, but he deigned called her a 'pup' to denote her as being different from the rest of the 'mongrels'.

Not much of a compliment, but she'd take what she could get from the arrogant prick.

Ira sighed. "Hello to you too, your Majesty," she said, knowing that he was less irritable when she called him that. Judging by the smirk he gained at her words, she was again right, and she kept walking towards the back.

But it would seem Gilgamesh had more to say, as he added "By the way, Kirei asked me to deliver a message to you when you got back."

Looking over at him, Ira raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? And what did he say?" she asked.

"He told me to remind you that you'll need to summon your Servant soon if you want to participate in the Holy Grail War. And that, once you've done it, you'll need to register with him," he told her.

She snorted. "He doesn't have to remind me of that. I know full well how much time I have. But since _you_ refuse to be my Servant, I'll have to look for someone else," she countered.

Indeed, when she had learned about the Holy Grail War and her chances of joining it, she had asked Gilgamesh to be her Servant. Rude, prideful and an all-around pain-in-the-ass he might have been, he was still one of the most powerful, if not _the_ most powerful, Heroic Spirit in all of history. With him at her side, her victory in the War would be assured, as would be her revenge against Emiya.

Only for Gilgamesh to flat-out refuse, stating that he would not lower himself to be her 'lapdog'. If _she_ had agreed to serve _him_ instead of the other way around, he might have considered it. But they both knew that Ira was too prideful to bow to someone like him, and that ended the chances of her becoming his new Master.

Reaching into her bookbag, Ira said aloud "Luckily, I was able to get my hands on the perfect catalyst, so my success won't be dependent on your pride."

"Oh?" Gilgamesh said, and switched focus from his drink to her once again.

In response she pulled out what appeared to be an old musket rifle, an arquebus, though it was rusted over with age.

"Yes. According to Kirei, the Archer-class Servants are usually the ones with the strongest Noble Phantasms. If this catalyst summons the Heroic Spirit I'm looking for, then they'll definitely be in the Archer Class, and I'll be that much closer to victory," she explained.

Gilgamesh hummed. "I see…" he said, before getting off the altar and standing. "In that case, I'll watch you summon this Servant of yours. It should be at least somewhat entertaining."

Knowing she couldn't stop him even if she tried, Ira let Gilgamesh follow her and walked downstairs. Down there, Kirei had inscribed a magic circle into the floor of his study, though it looked as if he were out at the moment.

Good. Aside from Gilgamesh, she couldn't afford any distractions.

Ira placed her school supplies in the corner before moving the furniture around, making sure that the magic circle was uncovered. Once it was, she checked her supply of mana, and was pleased that it was full.

Then, with everything else set, she placed the catalyst in the center of the circle and then stepped back.

Extending her right hand out, she began channeling her mana and the circle glowed red. The brilliance of the color briefly reminded her of fire, before she crushed the thought and focused.

" _Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Let each be turned over fivefold, shattering when filled. Set. Silver and steel are the essence, stone and the archduke of contracts the foundation. Great Schweinorg, raise a barrier against the wind, howling from the four directions, and follow the forked road leading to the kingdom_ ," she began.

The magic circle's glow intensified, and the catalyst rose into the air as it was used to reach to the Throne of Heroes. " _Hear me now. Your body is formed by my will, and my destiny formed by your hand. If you agree to my will and this pact, then answer me!_ " Ira said, raising her voice.

Wind form an unknown source began whipping around them while the ground began to shake from the output of power. " _I make this pledge. I shall embody all good in the world, and seek to vanquish all evil in the world. Seventh Heaven, garbed in the words of wonderous power, come forth from the binding circle, Guardian of the Scales!_ " she yelled.

The magic circle flashed and unleashed a wave of mana, nearly knocking Ira over from the strength of it. The circle also created a massive cloud of smoke, obscuring her vision of the circle's contents.

Ira gasped as she felt a large part of her mana ripped from her, likely used to fashion the body of her Servant. But she didn't falter, and both she and Gilgamesh watched with bated breath for if the ritual worked. She felt a stinging sensation on the back of her right hand, and looked.

The back of her hand was also shining with a red light, a light that resolved into a set of Command Seals. They were fashioned in the shape of an Oni's head, with the two horns separate from the rest of it.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a loud coughing, and a voice asking "Man, do summons really have to make this much smoke? I mean, I can understand the need for theatrics, but this is ridiculous." Slowly, the cloud dispersed, and Ira received her first look at her Servant.

It was a man, and older one who appeared to be in his late forties. He had tanned skin and unkempt black hair that reached the middle of his back, with the beginning of a mustache and beard on his face. There was eyepatch over his right eye, while other eye was dull yellow in color and seemed to reflect the light in an almost sinister way.

He was wearing a tattered white kosode that was open at the chest, showing the necklace he wore to match his earrings, while the red kimono that would have gone over it was tied at his waist. Completing the image were his equally tattered black hakama pants, straw sandals and simple katana that hung from his waist in a black sheathe.

The man grinned and placed the arquebus—now fully restored and without a speck of rust—on his shoulder. "So, am I to assume that this girl in front of me is my servant? Or is it the young man behind her that just screams of royalty?"

Blinking as she got over her shock, Ira said "My name is Kurashi Ira, and I am your Master. Tell, what is your name, and what Class are you?"

In response, the Servant's grin turned purely demonic, and a dark aura seemed to surround him.

"I am he who sought to unite Japan and was betrayed by his own retainer. I was both a skilled ruler and businessman, known for my brutal defeat of all who stood before me. Bow to your knees and pray, for you stand before the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven! The Avenger-Class Servant, Oda Nobunaga!" he declared.

* * *

 **And that ends this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it, and stay tuned for the next chapter. What will happen with Nobunaga in the fray now, and how will this affect the Grail War? The next chapter (whenever that comes out) will tell!**

 **Please review! If you flame me then Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)**


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting the Other Servants

Author's Note: I do not own Fate/Stay night, or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hello again, everybody. To be frank, I'm just as surprised to be here as the rest of you. I thought my enthusiasm for this story had dried up after last chapter, and I was going to call it a failed endeavor. But it looks like my mind isn't ready to let go of this story just yet. So, here's the latest chapter, which I hope you enjoy. But first, replies!**

 **Guest #1 and Stratos263: Thank you for your kind words.**

 **Guest #2: Yes, that is all the effects we've seen the mud (which is really just corrupt mana from the Grail) do in canon. However, considering that the Holy Grail is supposed to have the power to literally wipe out the entire world's population in an instant save for three people (what it offered Kiritsugu) I consider giving one person average-level Magic Circuits to be a pretty small task compared to that. So I took a bit of creative liscence and here and said, if Angra Mainyu can destroy the world, he can give magic to one person.**

 **Nerf585: I didn't plan on there being any romance in this story. (I can't see pairing Ira with anyone to work out.) But there's always the chance that could change.**

 **Giuseppe Mendoza Vargas: Uh… no hablo español muy bien. Hablas ingles?**

 **Guest #3: Angra Mainyu didn't save Ira to get revenge. He stills wants be born, which Kiritsugu messed up, so he decided to save Ira in the hopes that she would finish the job. And having mad her believe that Kiritsugu was the one who caused the death of her family gives her the motivation to live long enough to do so.**

 **Gundam 09 and Guest #4: I refer you both to the notes at the start of last chapter, where I mentioned that my version of Nobunaga would not be the same as canon.**

 **Darkjaden: Indeed, it is.**

 **And Padparadscha Blue: I did briefly toy with the idea of having the Servant be Jeanne Alter. But, after thinking about it, I decided to put that idea away for now. Maybe if I ever do a Fate/Zero story, I'll give it a shot.**

 **And now, we begin!**

* * *

Chapter 3: Meeting the Other Servants

Ira looked around the school, frowning. "It appears that Tohsaka decided to skip class today. Very strange…" she muttered, walking across campus.

In her head, she heard the voice of her Servant, who said " _And who's this Tohsaka person? Are they supposed to be a friend of yours?_ "

The redhead resisted the urge to snort, and made sure to reply mentally in case anyone heard her. ' _No, nothing of the sort. Moreover, she and I despise each other for a number of reasons. That said, she's an accomplished mage, as well as an attentive student. For her to miss class like this is highly… unusual_ ,' she thought.

Avenger took a while to reply, eventually saying " _Do you believe that it might have something to do with the War?_ "

Ira stopped walking for a moment, thinking. Then she resumed her walk, but now wore a full-scale smirk. ' _Tell me, Avenger, how skilled are you at sensing the mana output of other people?_ ' she thought.

He gave off the mental equivalent of a shrug. " _Not too skilled, to be perfectly frank. A skill like Presence Detection isn't something an Avenger-class Servant usually possesses. That said, if we ever do get close enough to another mage or Servant—say, about 30 or so meters—I'll be able to tell that they're there_ _anyway_."

Ira nodded. Not as much range as she would have liked, but it worked well enough. ' _Okay, then I want you to try it now, and tell me if you see anything_ ,' she ordered.

Nobunaga obeyed and cast his senses outwards, looking for what his Master had ordered.

It took less than three seconds for him to pick up something, and he hastily responded " _Bad news. I'm sensing the presence of another Servant. And they're in this building!_ "

Ira went ramrod straight in her seat, casting her eyes around the hallway. She didn't see anything unusual, which either meant that the Servant was somewhere else in the school… or they were in sprit form as well.

Making sure to remain calm, she said ' _Can you tell me their location? Their class, parameters, anything?_ '

Avenger concentrated to the point that he nearly materialized in the middle of the hallway, and replied ' _I believe the Servant is of the Rider class, but I can't say for sure. Whoever it is, they also qualify for the Lancer, Archer, Caster_ and _Berserker classes alongside Rider. Be very careful_."

Ira grimaced. One Servant who qualified for five of the seven normal classes… this was bad. Worse cast scenario, she might be forced to have Avenger materialize in front of eyewitnesses, eyewitnesses she would then be required to kill to keep the Holy Grail War a secret.

Not that killing was something she had a problem with, but she'd like to avoid the accompanying complications if possible.

However, as she went through her day and acted normally, nothing happened. Shinji was being his arrogant self, appearing to have already gotten over the incident yesterday. But beyond that, nothing. The enemy Servant that Avenger sensed didn't make a single move against them.

That left Ira time to wonder about a few things regarding her own Servant. The fact that her catalyst worked and she obtained Oda Nobunaga as her Heroic Servant was great. Not only would his keen intellect and military tactics help in the coming battle, but the fact she summoned him here, in his country of origin, made him stronger than if she summoned him somewhere else.

Still, there was something she was curious about. Nobunaga had claimed that his class was "Avenger". She could still remember every word from when she encountered Angra Mainyu as a child. And the being had also said that he could be referred to as Avenger. Did that mean that Angra Mainyu was a Servant as well? And if so, what did the mean?

Plus, if her own Servant was not of the seven standard classes, then that could technically mean that someone else could someone their own Servant that did fill one of those classes. In short, there could be a total of eight Masters in this war, instead of seven. Was such a thing even possible?

* * *

After class, Ira could be seen walking through the streets, seeming as if she were looking for something.

Eventually, Avenger grew tired of trying to guess what it was, and asked " _Master, what are you doing?_ "

Ira sighed. "I'm trying to find a place that would serve as a viable base of operations for however long the war lasts. I've been living at the Church until this point, but during the War it's an official neutral sanctuary. Servants and Masters aren't allowed to use it as their base," she said aloud.

Nobunaga considered this, humming. " _In my opinion, it'd be best to find a place that has a high elevation. That way, it offers a panoramic view of the battlefield—or in this case, the city—and any Servants that want to attack would have to move uphill to do so_ ," he suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea. In that case…" she said, before looking over the trees and into the distance. There, built into the side of Mount Enzou, was the perfect place.

"I wonder if the head of Ryuudou Temple would be willing to take in a short-term guest like myself," she muttered.

Nobunaga heard her, and began chuckling. " _Hehe… Ha… Ha ha… HA HA HA HA!_ " he shouted, his chuckling growing into full-blow laugher.

Ira frowned, wondering what was so funny. However, when her Servant didn't offer an explanation and continued laughing, she quickly become irritated. "Alright, just what's got you laughing?!" she demanded loudly.

A couple passerby stared at her for shouting at what seemed like air, but she ignored them. After a moment, Avenger managed to sober up enough to talk, and said " _I'm just appreciating the irony. A temple is the place where I was betrayed and ended up committing seppuku. And now, we're going to make one our base of operations. Fate has an interesting sense of humor_."

Ira thought about that, eventually conceding that, yes, it was ironic. Well, at least this time, they wouldn't have anything to worry about when trying to reach this temple.

Until then, however, there was something else that she was considering. If the fact that her Servant wasn't one of the regular seven classes did mean that there would be total of eight competitors, that would make things harder in the long run.

However, if she could find a Master who was open to the idea of an alliance, then she and that Master could work together to eliminate the other six. Two-versus six were much greater odd than one-against-seven. But that in turn left another question: Just which Master-Servant pair would she be able to form an alliance with?

Tohsaka was immediately out, assuming that the girl actually was one of the Masters. Iro doubted that she'd be able to form an effective partnership with Berserker, whoever their Master might be. And if Rider's master was trying to use the school as their base, she didn't think they'd be willing to work as allies either. That left Saber, Lancer, Assassin, Archer and Caster, minus whichever Servant that Rin obtained.

Storing the information away for later, she resumed her walk.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me," the redhead muttered, staring at the indigo-haired samurai in front of them.

It did not take them long to reach the steps to Ryuudou Temple, and to begin walking up them. Ira had already planned out how to convince the head priest to let her stay for a few days, playing the role of an innocent girl who had been left with nowhere to go. And if that failed, she could fall back on the age-old tactic of using force to get his agreement.

But her entire plan, it would seem, did not account for one particular fact. Namely, that someone else would have the same idea as Avenger to use Ryuudou Temple as their base.

Now she was standing in front of the temple gate, with none other than Assassin blocking her way.

Looking up at him, she still tried to go with the 'innocent' routine, and bowed her head. "Please, sir, it's absolutely important that I speak with the head of the temple. Won't you let me through?" she asked.

But Assassin scoffed. "You can stop trying to fool me by acting like a harmless maiden. I can tell that you're a Master, and that your Servant is close by. And I'm under orders from my Master to not let any other Servant or Master pass through this gate without permission," he coolly told them.

Sighing as she accepted her first plan to have failed, Ira resumed her usual stoic expression. Meanwhile, Nobunaga materialized next to her, one hand holding his antique rifle while the other hovered over his katana.

"Then I guess we'll have to kill both you and your Master. I have every intention of using this temple as my temporary residence, and you will not stop me," she said.

Assassin smirked. "I see. In that case, you will only be able to gain entrance… by forcing your way past me," he declared, before reaching behind him and drawing his sword, Monohoshi Zao. "But before we start, we should at least exchange names. After all, that is the honorable thing to do."

Ira narrowed her eyes. She didn't give one crap about this man's sense of 'honor' and was about to tell him such. However, before she could, Nobunaga chuckled and stepped forward. "Ah, the samurai's code of bushido. And here I was, thinking that it had all but vanished in this day and age," he said.

Tossing his rifle behind him for Ira to angrily catch, he drew his katana. "Since you're being so charitable, I'll return the favor and go first. Name's Oda Nobunaga, former Minister of the Right," he said.

Assassin blinked, before his smirk was replaced with a genuine smile. "Ah, to be facing the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven himself in combat. Truly, this is an honor," he said, making Avenger grin while Ira had to avoid rolling her eyes. "My name is Sasaki Kojiro, a samurai who was born shortly after your death. Your tale endures even after centuries, while I am but a footnote in this land's history. I look forward to fighting you."

"Same here," Nobunaga said, and the two of them moved into fighting stances.

For a brief moment, there was silence. The two of them didn't move, waiting for the moment to strike. The air between them grew tense, filled with enough pressure that, were she to try and cut with a knife, Ira honestly expected to meet resistance.

A slight breeze passed through, stirring up some of the leaves on the steps and causing one to fall from a nearby tree. It hovered in the air between them, slowly drifting down… down… towards the ground.

The moment the leaf touched the steps, both Servant lunged forward, ready to cleave the other in two.

"That's enough, Assassin!"

Only for them to both freeze in place, their blades less than a centimeter from clashing with each other.

As one, the three of them looked towards the top of the steps. Standing there was a beautiful young woman, who possessed long blue hair and blue eyes. She was wearing an outfit consisted of a dark blue jacket over a black shirt, and a tan skirt that reached nearly reached her ankles. What caught Ira's attention however, were the pair of pointed ears she had, as well as the insane amount of mana she sensed coming from this woman.

Assassin sighed, and stepped back. "And just when things were getting fun. My Master can be such a spoil-sport," he stated.

The blue haired woman glared angrily at him, but said nothing. Walking down the steps towards them, she said "My name is Caster. Tell me, what business do the two of you have here?"

Ira stiffened. Wait, so this woman was the Caster-class Servant? Not only was that bad, considering how much power she could sense she had, but hadn't Assassin just called her his Master? Could a Servant even summon a Servant of their own?

Deciding to focus on the issue later, she drew herself to her full height and also came closer. "My name is Kurashi Ira, Master of Avenger. I wish to speak with the head priest of this temple in the hopes of finding temporary lodgings for the length of the Holy Grail War," she said formally.

Caster raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? In that case, you can forget about it. I've already made this temple my own territory, and will not share it. Now leave, before I become any more irritated than Assassin has made me," she said bluntly.

Ira winced. She was afraid of that. Just from trying to gauge this woman's power level alone, she could tell that Caster was not someone she wanted to fight. Not this early in the war.

But maybe… Maybe they didn't have to fight.

A proverbial lightbulb went off over Ira's head, and she suddenly smiled. The act caused Caster to blink on confusion, and she did so again when Ira actually bowed.

"I fully understand, Caster. However, I myself have nowhere to rest my head until the war is over, and so I desperately need permission to remain here. Could you and I not discuss a deal of sorts?" she asked.

Now Caster's other eyebrow joined the first in rising. "A deal?" she repeated, thoroughly flummoxed.

Seeing that she had the Servant's attention, Ira said "Yes, a deal. I am in need of a place of residence, and I'm sure that there's something that would interest you as well that we could provide. So rather than jump straight to killing each other, what do you say we try and form an agreement? Something that would benefit us both?"

But rather than take the bait, the blue-haired women narrowed her eyes. "What are you playing at? Just a moment ago you were planning on forcing your way past my Servant. And now, you suddenly want to negotiate? I'm not buying it," she said.

Ira quickly tried to think of a suitable response. But before she could, Avenger spoke for her, saying "Ah, don't hold it against her. I haven't known her for very long, but I can tell that my Master can be a bit headstrong when it comes getting what she wants. If there's a path to it, she pursues that path to end."

Not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not, Ira simply nodded in agreement.

Caster was silent, thinking. Technically, it _had_ been her plan to gather other Servants under her control in order to defeat Berserker. Even with all the mana she was gathering from the local townspeople, even with all her skills in magic, Berserker was someone she honestly doubted that she could defeat alone. Especially considering the fact that, if the Berserker was Heracles like she suspected, it be almost impossible to even hurt him.

However, she had planned to do so by using her Rulebreaker and stealing the Servant and their associated Command Seals away. A deal that didn't involve that hadn't even occurred to her yet.

Still, although she was very much suspicious about what the redhead might have planned, Caster reckoned that it wouldn't hurt to at least hear her out. After all, should she not like whatever deal was proposed, she could still kill her and take this Servant for herself at that point.

As Caster considered this, Ira sincerely hoped the ploy would work. While she was sincere about needing somewhere to sleep, that place being Ryuudou Temple wasn't nearly as vital as she made it out to be. Worst case scenario, she could just check into a hotel, and use that as her base. But the temple would serve as the best place, all things considered, so she wished Caster would be open to the idea of negotiating.

After another minute of waiting, Caster eventually sighed and nodded. "I suppose I can listen your proposal, at the very least. Assassin, let them through," she said.

The samurai nodded and sheathed his blade, stepping aside to allow them entry. Nobunaga stared at Caster for a moment, before putting away his own sword and taking his rifle back from Ira. " _I don't like this. This woman seems like too much of a witch for me to trust her_ ," he told his Master mentally.

'I agree. Still, it'd probably be best if we didn't say that out loud. Something tells me she's respond violently to that,' Ira replied, unaware of how correct she actually was.

And with that, Ira and Avenger followed Caster inside Ryuudou Temple.

* * *

 **The next day…**

Ira walked onto the ground of Homurahara Academy with an uncharacteristic smile on her face. So unusual was the sight, in fact, that some students debated whether or not to approach her and ask if she was alright.

None of them did, however, which left her free to thing over the events of yesterday.

The negotiations with Caster had gone well, to her surprise. Far better than she expected them too.

As it turned out, Caster had also been looking for allies, though she hadn't revealed the exact reason as to why. Ira suspected it was for reasons very similar to her own: to reduce the number of enemies she had to face, and increase her chances against the other Servants. Regardless, once Ira learned that bit of information, it had been relatively easy to come to an agreement.

Although Ira refused to outright hand over her Command Seals to Caster, she did agree to help the woman in whatever schemes she came up with. Or if she was not capable of doing that, then at least do her absolute best to not mess those plans up. In exchange for this, Caster had spoken with the head of Ryuudou Temple, and arranged for her and Avenger to be given temporary residence there.

Obviously, their agreement also stipulated that the two of them would only act as allies until Caster and Avenger were the only two Servants remaining, at which point all agreements would be dissolved. And since the two groups would be using the same place as their base, it was also agreed that, even if they both survived to that point, neither side would attack the other while on temple grounds, making it a sort of 'neutral zone' so to speak.

These had been the terms of the agreement, but Ira was too cautious to believe that Caster would obey this pact simply by giving her word. After all, she had already broken the rules by summoning a Servant of her own. What kept her from breaking this agreement as well?

Caster had thought similarly regarding Ira, and so the woman had actually created a Geis for the two of them to sign, binding their actions and ensuring that both sides would uphold their agreement. While Ira had been initially hesitant to willingly curse herself (and therefore ruin any possible chance of betraying Caster in the future) she accepted that it also bound Caster similarly, and both parties signed it with their blood.

Now, a day later, she could say that the whole turned out rather well for her. Since that one agreement both allied her with another powerful Servant and got her a great base of operations, it killed two birds with one stone.

Besides that, however, nothing of note happened the day Ira went to school, except that Tohsaka had come back. However, she could sense that the twin-tailed girl was not the one responsible for setting up the Bounded Field. On the contrary, Ira could sense that Rin was also trying to dismantle it. A plus one in her book, then.

However, things changed once night had fallen, and Ira began making her way home. As she neared the track filed, she began aware of a particular sound, one that had no place here. The sound of metal striking against metal.

Eyes widening, the redhead ran in the direction of the noise. What she came upon at the track field was nothing short of a battle, one between two very odd individuals.

The first was a man of above-average height, with copper tanned skin, white hair and dark eyes. He wore a deep red cloak over black skin-tight body armor, with metal accents. He was carrying a pair of curved short swords, one black and one white, and wielded them with exceptional skill.

The other combatant was also male, with a lighter skin tone and long blue hair that was kept back in a ponytail, with red eyes. His outfit consisted of deep blue full-body tights and shoulder guards, with several runes written on it. His weapon was a two-meter long red spear, also covered in runes, that flickered with energy each time the man swung it.

And off to the side, behind the silver-haired man, was none other than Rin Tohsaka. Oh, this was too good.

The two men closed in and locked blades once again, the sheer force of their impact creating a cloud of dust, with the two sets of weapons releasing a showing of sparks on impact with each other. They moved at a speed that nearly defied human comprehension, with such fluidity and grace that it was nothing short of heroic.

Watching the two of them fight, it was easy to see that they were Servants. Power like that was beyond anything less than a Heroic Spirit. But what classes were they? The one carrying the lance was, obviously, a Lancer, but the other one was a mystery. He _could_ be a Saber, but something about the way he carried himself told her that that wasn't right.

The two of them paused when Lancer destroyed another of the other Servants swords. "That makes twenty-seven. Just how many blades do you have up your sleeve?" he demanded.

The Servant's flippant reply was "Is something wrong? Is your strategy now to just 'wait and see' or are you taking a break?"

Lancer smirked. "Trying to provoke me, huh? That's pretty clever of you," he said, before stabbing his spear into the ground. "Okay, how about we just exchange names properly? I've never head of an Archer that wields swords."

'Well, that answered that question,' Ira thought before listening in.

Rather than answer Lancer's question, Archer said "You are easily identifiable. Only the fastest of Heroes are chosen to be a Lancer, and you're even faster than most. Add in the ferocity with which you fight, and it becomes clear, Hound of Ulster."

Hound of Ulster? Ira stared at Lancer. So this was one of the most famous spearmen in all of history. The Irish hero, Cu Chulainn.

Cu Chulainn grinned ferally, confirming what Archer said. "Your flattery won't get you anywhere, but I accept it all the same," he stated. Then he moved into some sort of fighting stance, and his spear became enveloped in a massive amount of glowing red energy. "In that case, try to withstand my strongest attack!"

Ira smiled. So, Lancer was about to unleash his Noble Phantasm. Hopefully, it would be strong enough to eliminate Archer, taking one Servant out of the War. And even if it didn't, an attack that powerful would leave Lancer opening for a surprise attack.

But just as Lancer was about to strike, his eyes widened, and he suddenly halted the attack. Ira had just enough time to blink before he spun around, the aura that had been around his spear gone, and he pointed said spear in her direction. "Who's there?!" he yelled.

Shit. Had Lancer somehow sensed her presence? What was she going to do?

Before she could that out, Avenger again spoke for her, materializing on top of the fence that separated the track field from the rest of the school. He grinned, saying "So, you managed to figure out I was here, even while I was in spirit form? Not bad."

Cu Chulainn glared at him, while Archer tensed. "And just who are you supposed to be, old man?" the Irishman demanded.

A tick mark appeared on Nobunaga's forehead at the word 'old'. He was forty-seven years old when he had died, just two days before his forty-eighth birthday. He was _not_ old, thank you very much!

Still, he managed to keep his tone casual despite his irritation, and waved his hand. "I go by a lot of names, to tell you the truth. Some of them were given to me, others I gave myself, at lot of them because of things I said or did in my illustrious lifetime," he said cryptically. When he saw that his words only served to irritate Lancer, he added "But I suppose you can just call me 'Avenger'."

Rin chose that moment to speak up, placing her hands on her hips. "Nice try, but 'Avenger' isn't one of the seven servant classes. There's Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Assassin, Caster, and Berserker-" she began.

"And Avenger, and Ruler, and Shielder, Saver, Beast, and several others I don't care enough to list," Nobunaga interjected. "There's always exceptions to the rules, little lady, and I'm one of them," he said.

Rin glared at him, both for interrupting her and being proven wrong. But Lancer merely grinned. "In that case, fighting you should be fun!" he yelled, and leaped through the air at him.

Avenger's response was to aim his rifle at the Irishman and fire. However, Cu Chulainn paid no mind to this. Even modern bullets usually had no effect on the average Servant, and the gun Avenger was using was all the way from—according to the knowledge the Holy Gail gave him—the 16th century. Something like that would barely even phase him.

But then, a split-second before the bullet hit, his instincts suddenly screamed bloody murder at him, and his eyes widened. By now the round was too close for him to dodge completely. But, using every ounce of speed he had, he was able to turn in midair enough that it hit him in the shoulder instead of the center of his chest.

The bullet tore right through his bodysuit and skin, before burrowing deep enough to nearly graze bone. Blood flew into the air and Lancer cried out in pain. He fell to the ground and brought one hand to his shoulder, both shocked and in pain.

Rin and Archer also were shocked, unable to believe that the round had actually hurt him. Quickly, Archer summoned another pair of swords and moved into a fighting stance. "That rifle… there's no way it should have worked. Is that thing your Noble Phantasm?" he asked.

Nobunaga smiled bestially and ran a hand over his weapon. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I'm definitely not going to tell you," he stated. He enjoyed the angered expressions that gave the duo, and added "But one thing I will tell you, is that this lovely thing let's me convert mana into bullets, saving me from having to carry around any ammo or gunpowder. I can just aim, shoot and repeat as many times as I want. And, as you can see, it works just as well on Servants as on anyone else."

Lancer gritted his teeth. ' _Would have been nice to know that before_ ,' he thought bitterly, before rising to his feet. With a wound like this, he wouldn't be able to wield his spear as effectively as normal, which in turn meant that he couldn't unleash his Noble Phantasm at full power. This wasn't looking good.

Avenger jumped forward and flew down from the top of the fence, landing on his feet. "Well, I was planning on just watching you two fight, but I guess now I'll be joining in. Should be fun," he said.

Archer tensed at that, ready to rush forward if needed. Though he could only move one arm without causing himself a lot of pain, Lancer also raised his spear. The three Servants locked gazes, and each took one step forward.

And were interrupted by the sound of a bucket falling over.

' _Two fights in row where I've been interrupted? Really?_ ' Nobunaga thought, before looking over in the direction of the noise.

Everyone else also looked in that direction. However, Ira was the only one that was close enough to catch a glimpse of the intruder before they ran into the building. Still, that glimpse told her exactly who it was. After all, there was only one student with red hair besides herself.

Ira smiled darkly. This couldn't have been better. She had always wanted nothing more than to kill Shirou, but stayed her hand each time to avoid a scene. But now, not only was there no one around, but she would have to kill him anyway for witnessing this fight. It was perfect.

But then she saw Lancer vanish in blur of speed, and she realized that the spearman was also gunning for him.

'What the-? NO! Emiya is my kill, you bastard, and no one else's!' she mentally roared. 'Avenger! Follow Lancer, and stop him from killing that fool!'

But Nobunaga hesitated. " _Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it our job to ensure that the Holy Grail War remains-_ " he started, before Ira cut him off.

'I'm aware of that. Just go, NOW!' she ordered.

Though thoroughly put off by his Master's sudden outburst, Avenger obeyed and took off. Ira also began running, entering the building through the door closest to her.

* * *

 **And that ends this chapter. I find I'm actually excited about the next one, which is a good sign. Maybe I'll even have it out before the start of the next semester! Wouldn't that be something? In any case, stay tuned!**

 **Please review! If you flame me then Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)**


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